The Dutch Court of Audit has responded favorably to a plan from Holland Casino to attract new visitors by broadening the existing business. The casino operator wants to expand its non-gaming offering to make up for an ongoing decline in revenue from gaming.
The ministers and state secretaries involved in overseeing gaming in the Netherlands have agreed to the broad lines of the Holland Casino plan.
Holland Casino was seen to be acting consistently in its efforts to combat compulsive gambling and compliant with its mandate to counter illegal gambling and money laundering.
At the heart of the issue is whether or not Holland Casino could expand its activities but not increase demand for gambling. The drop in gaming revenues can be attributed to a decline in marketing spend of more than one-third between 2005 and 2009.
The plan put forward by Holland Casino calls for an immediate modernization of existing properties, expanded food and beverage offerings and a separate gaming area for smokers. At present, the casinos are subject to the national smoking ban. Farther in the future, the operator wants to move into theater and other forms of entertainment.
Holland Casino also wants to begin offering online gaming, something which the operator tried once but was stopped by a previous government. There would need to be changes to existing laws to allow such a move.
